JP2007212319A - Movement wake display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To display a radar wake by turning it into a thin line at a required time point independently of the size of a target as to a movement wake display device, to display the wake display turned into a thin line by turning it into a straight line according to prescribed conditions, and to perform data accumulation. <P>SOLUTION: Original wake information is converted into thin-line wake information and displayed, thereby preventing a relevant area in a display image plane from being painted out by radar wakes even if a plurality of ships and vessels, etc. are fishing in the same area (sea area). Moreover, by further converting the thin-line wake information into linearized wake information, a wake display on the image plane can be expressed more simply. Furthermore, as to the linearized wake information, an extracted straight line is converted into numerical data denoting the positions of its starting point and endpoint, and stored. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a moving track display device that displays a moving track of a target existing around based on a received signal in a target detection device such as a radar device or a sonar device.

  Various types of radar devices have been conventionally used to detect the presence of other ships around the ship and display the position etc. in the form of PPI (Plan Position Indicator), etc., for the purpose of safe and efficient operation and operation of the ship. It is mounted on. Many of the radar devices mounted on the ship are primary radar devices, wirelessly transmit detection signals from their own ship, receive the reflected waves (ie, echoes) by reflective objects (ie, targets) such as other ships, The presence of the target is displayed on the display device. In addition, it is widely performed to provide a function of displaying a moving track of a target in a radar device or a ship-mounted device related thereto (Patent Document 1).

  FIG. 11 shows a conventional configuration example of a radar device mounted on a ship. However, in FIG. 11, illustrations are omitted for configurations that are not directly related to wake display, such as a radar antenna, a transmission unit, a correlation processing circuit, and a graphics display control circuit.

  In a marine vessel radar, a detection signal supplied from a transmission unit is usually wirelessly transmitted by a radar antenna provided at a place with a good view on a marine vessel. The radar antenna performs this transmission while rotating at a predetermined speed in a substantially horizontal plane, and receives an echo from a target such as another ship.

  The echo received by the radar antenna is detected and amplified by the receiver 11, A / D converted by the A / D converter 12, and temporarily stored in time series by the buffer memory 13.

  The echo data includes the time required from the transmission of the detection signal to the reception of the echo (corresponding to the distance R between the ship and the target), the transmission / reception direction of the detection signal and the echo, that is, the angular position of the radar antenna ( Polar coordinate-compliant data associated with the relative orientation θ). When the echo data conforming to polar coordinates is transferred from the buffer memory 13 to the display memory 16 and stored, the signal processing coordinate converter 14 converts the coordinates from polar coordinates to orthogonal coordinates by address control.

  Further, based on the data on the display memory 16 that provides a storage space corresponding to the Cartesian coordinate type, a radar image including echoes is displayed on the screen of the raster scan display 17 by PPI display.

  Further, the ship radar device can be provided with a wake display function. The wake display function creates wake data by accumulating echo data in time series, and shows the wake of the target based on the created wake data, that is, the path that the target has taken from the previous point in time to the present. It is a function to display. In FIG. 11, wake data is created by the wake processing unit 15 based on the echo data on the buffer memory 13 and stored in the display memory. When an instruction to display the track is given from the user by a switch operation or the like, the track data is read from the display memory 16 and the track is displayed on the screen of the display unit 17.

  At this time, echo / wake / graphics can be displayed on the screen of the display 17 by using echo data on the display memory 16 and graphic information from a circuit (not shown).

The wake displayed in this way is used to determine the course and speed of the other ship, and in the case of a bottom fishing boat, etc., to specify the place where the other ship has fished.
JP-A-5-281331

  In conventional wake display devices, radar wakes are displayed thicker according to the size of the target. Therefore, when multiple ships are fishing in the same sea area (area), the corresponding area on the display screen is displayed as radar. Filled with wakes, it becomes difficult to monitor the operational status and trends of other ships.

  In addition, since the radar track normally stores data in a volatile memory, the data is lost when the track display device is turned off. In order to avoid this, the wakes of other ships to be saved are drawn using a line drawing function or the like so as to trace the radar wakes and saved in a nonvolatile memory. In this case, it is necessary for the operator to input a wake to be saved as a continuous line, which increases the burden on the operator. In addition, if the radar track is stored as image data, the capacity of the nonvolatile memory increases.

  The present invention provides a moving track display device that displays a moving track of a target existing in the surroundings based on a received signal in the target detecting device, wherein the radar track is displayed as a thin line at a required time regardless of the size of the target. It is intended to be displayed in the form.

  It is another object of the present invention to make it possible to display and store data by linearizing a thinned track display according to a predetermined condition.

The mobile track display device according to claim 1 is configured such that a position of a target existing around the detection device is based on a reception signal by a detection device that transmits a transmission signal and receives a reflected wave from the target for a predetermined time in the past. A travel track comprising a track processing unit for creating original track information representing how the vehicle has changed from the current to the present, and a display memory for storing the original track information from the track processing unit and outputting it to the display unit In the display device,
In response to the thinning process command, the original track information is input from the display memory, the thinning process is performed by leaving the central portion of the original track information, and the thinned track information is generated. And a data conversion unit that outputs the data to the storage memory and stores it instead of the corresponding original track information.

The mobile wake display device according to claim 2 is the mobile wake display device according to claim 1, wherein the data conversion unit includes:
Further, upon receiving a linearization processing command, thinning track information is input from the display memory, and linearization processing is performed by converting the extracted extracted straight line into numerical data representing the position of the start point and the end point, and then performing the linearization track Information is created, a straight line based on this linearized track information is output to the display memory, and stored in place of the corresponding thinned track information.

The movement track display device according to claim 3 is the movement track display device according to claim 2, wherein the linearization process includes:
Scan the target image containing the thinned track information, and detect adjacent target pixels sequentially, using the pixel with the value as the target pixel,
Forming a straight line extraction zone having a width of m pixels (m ≧ 2) around a straight line connecting the first target pixel and the nth (n ≧ 2) target pixel;
A straight line connecting the target pixel immediately before the target pixel that does not overlap the straight line extraction zone and the first target pixel is extracted from the n-th target pixel and used as an extracted straight line.

  The moving track display device according to claim 4 is the moving track display device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein numerical data representing the positions of the start point and the end point of the extracted straight line is stored in a data storage unit having a nonvolatile memory. The data is stored so as to be readable.

  The moving track display device according to claim 5 is the moving track display device according to claim 1, wherein the thinning process divides the data of each pixel of the original track information into a plurality of data ranges that do not overlap each other. Thinning processing is performed for each data range to obtain thinned track information.

  The moving track display device according to claim 6 is the moving track display device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a processing range designation signal is input to the data converter, and the linearization processing and / or thinning is performed. A range to be processed is specified.

  According to the mobile wake display device of the present invention, the original wake information (original radar wake) is displayed thicker according to the size of the target, but the same area (sea area) can be displayed by converting into thin wake information. ), Even when multiple vessels are fishing, the corresponding area of the display screen will not be filled with radar wakes, and it is possible to properly monitor the operating status and trends of other ships. .

  Moreover, the wake display on the display screen can be expressed more simply by converting the thin track information into the straight track information. Further, since the linearized track information is converted into numerical data representing the positions of the start point and the end point of the extracted straight line, the numerical data can be stored in a very small storage area of the data storage unit.

  Moreover, since the range for performing the thinning process and / or the straightening process is designated according to the input processing range designation signal, only a necessary part such as operation data of other ships can be thinned and straightened. In addition, only that portion is stored as numerical data in the data storage unit so as to be readable. This makes it possible to reproduce necessary parts such as operation data of other ships as necessary.

  Also, each pixel data of the original track information is divided into multiple data ranges that do not overlap each other, and thinning processing is performed for each data range, so the original track of multiple ships etc. in the same area (sea area) Even after information overlaps, a thinned image can be obtained.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a moving track display device according to the present invention. In the following description, display of the movement track of another ship in the marine radar apparatus will be described as an example. Of course, the present invention can be applied to a moving track of a moving object other than a ship (for example, an aircraft or a submarine), and can be realized by a wireless detection device such as a sonar device other than a radar device.

  In FIG. 1, the receiving unit 11, the A / D conversion unit 12, the buffer memory 13, the signal processing coordinate conversion unit 14, the wake processing unit 15, the display memory 16, and the display unit 17 are basically the same as those in the conventional example. Similar ones are used. However, with respect to the display memory 16, stored track information can be separately read and written.

  In response to the thinning process command, the data conversion unit 18 inputs the original track information (the track information obtained from the display memory 16) from the display memory 16, and performs the thinning process that leaves the central portion of the original track information. The thinned track information is generated to output the thinned track information to the display memory 16 and stored in place of the corresponding original track information. Further, the data conversion unit 18 receives the linearization processing command, inputs the thinning track information from the display memory 16, and converts the extracted extracted straight line into numerical data representing the position of the start point and the end point. Processing is performed to create linearized track information, and a straight line based on the linearized track information is output to the display memory 16 and stored in place of the corresponding thinned track information.

  The data conversion unit 18 receives a processing range designation signal and designates a range in which linearization processing and / or thinning processing is performed.

  The data storage unit 19 is a non-volatile memory that stores numerical data representing the positions of the start point and the end point of the extracted straight line in a readable manner.

  The work memory 20 is a work memory for storing and reading out necessary data as a temporary storage means associated with the thinning process and the straightening process of the data conversion unit 18.

  FIG. 2 shows a display example when the original wake information A is displayed on the display device 17 as it is, and the wake is displayed as a fairly thick curve. There is no problem with the original track information A being displayed alone, but when multiple ships are fishing in the same sea area (area), the corresponding area of the display screen is filled with radar tracks. It becomes difficult to monitor the operational status of other ships and their trends.

  FIG. 3 shows a display example when the thinned track information B obtained by thinning the original track information A is displayed on the display unit 17, and the track is displayed as a thin curve. Therefore, even when a plurality of ships are fishing in the same sea area (area), the wake of each ship can be clearly recognized on the display screen.

  FIG. 4 shows a display example when the linearized wake information C obtained by linearizing the thinned wake information B is displayed on the display unit 17, and the wake is displayed as a thin line group. Since each straight line of the linearized track information C is represented by numerical data representing the positions of the start point and end point, the numerical data representing the positions of the start point and end point is stored in the data storage unit 19 so as to be readable. . Then, when the mobile wake display device is restarted after the power is turned off, the linearized wake information C is read from the data storage unit 19 and redisplayed on the display unit 17.

  A specific method of the thinning will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 shows the original track information A read from the display memory 16 to the data conversion unit 18 in accordance with the thinning processing command. The numerical value represents the wake data of the pixel, and the data of the pixel where the numerical value is not written is zero. Pixels for which wake data is not zero are pixels to be thinned. This original track information A is a target image to be thinned.

  In FIG. 5, first, raster scanning is performed line by line from the upper left to the lower right. Next, raster scanning is performed line by line from the lower right to the upper left. Next, raster scanning is performed row by row from the upper right to the lower left. Next, raster scanning is performed row by row from the lower left to the upper right. The above is one cycle, and this cycle is repeated until the thinning process is completed.

  FIG. 6 shows a portion corresponding to the circle drawn by the broken line in FIG. In FIG. 6, P0 to P8 are each pixel, and the numerical value shown in parentheses for each pixel is the numerical data of that pixel.

First, raster scanning is performed line by line from the upper left to the lower right. At this time, a pixel whose pixel P0 is not zero is a target pixel. When raster scanning is performed pixel by pixel, if any one of the following conditions (1) to (3) is satisfied, a zero candidate pixel that sets the target pixel P0 to zero is set.
Condition (1) P1 = 0 and P2 = 0 and P8 = 0 and P4 ≠ 0 and P5 ≠ 0 and P6 ≠ 0
Condition (2) P1 = 0 and P8 = 0 and P7 = 0 and P3 ≠ 0 and P4 ≠ 0 and P5 ≠ 0
Condition (3) P6 = 0 and P7 = 0 and P8 = 0 and P2 ≠ 0 and P3 ≠ 0 and P4 ≠ 0
When the scanning under the conditions (1) to (3) is completed, the data of the pixels that are zero candidate pixels is set to zero.

Next, raster scanning is performed line by line from the lower right to the upper left. At this time, a pixel whose pixel P0 is not zero is a target pixel. When raster scanning is performed pixel by pixel, if any one of the following conditions (4) to (6) is satisfied, the pixel is set as a zero candidate pixel for setting the target pixel P0 to zero.
Condition (4) P4 = 0 and P5 = 0 and P6 = 0 and P1 ≠ 0 and P2 ≠ 0 and P8 ≠ 0
Condition (5) P3 = 0 and P4 = 0 and P5 = 0 and P1 ≠ 0 and P8 ≠ 0 and P7 ≠ 0
Condition (6) P2 = 0 and P3 = 0 and P4 = 0 and P6 ≠ 0 and P7 ≠ 0 and P8 ≠ 0
When the scans under the conditions (4) to (6) are completed, the data of the pixels that are zero candidate pixels are set to zero.

Next, raster scanning is performed for each column from the upper right to the lower left. At this time, a pixel whose pixel P0 is not zero is a target pixel. When raster scanning is performed pixel by pixel, if any one of the following conditions (7) to (9) is satisfied, a zero candidate pixel that sets the target pixel P0 to zero is set.
Condition (7) P2 = 0 and P3 = 0 and P4 = 0 and P6 ≠ 0 and P7 ≠ 0 and P8 ≠ 0
Condition (8) P1 = 0 and P2 = 0 and P3 = 0 and P5 ≠ 0 and P6 ≠ 0 and P7 ≠ 0
Condition (9) P8 = 0 and P1 = 0 and P2 = 0 and P4 ≠ 0 and P5 ≠ 0 and P6 ≠ 0
When the scans under the conditions (7) to (9) are completed, the data of the pixels that are zero candidate pixels are set to zero.

Finally, raster scanning is performed one column at a time from the lower left to the upper right. At this time, a pixel whose pixel P0 is not zero is a target pixel. When raster scanning is performed pixel by pixel, if any one of the following conditions (10) to (12) is satisfied, the pixel is set as a zero candidate pixel for setting the target pixel P0 to zero.
Condition (10) P6 = 0 and P7 = 0 and P8 = 0 and P2 ≠ 0 and P3 ≠ 0 and P4 ≠ 0
Condition (11) P5 = 0 and P6 = 0 and P7 = 0 and P1 ≠ 0 and P2 ≠ 0 and P3 ≠ 0
Condition (12) P4 = 0 and P5 = 0 and P6 = 0 and P8 ≠ 0 and P1 ≠ 0 and P2 ≠ 0
When scanning under these conditions (10) to (12) is completed, the data of the pixels that are zero candidate pixels is set to zero.

  Thus, the raster scan from the upper left to the lower right, the lower right to the upper left, the upper right to the lower left, and the lower left to the upper right is one cycle, and this cycle is conversion of the target pixel (zero from the numerical data). This is repeated until no conversion is performed. When the target pixel is no longer converted, the thinning process ends.

  FIG. 7 shows thinned track information B as a result of thinning processing performed on the original track information A of FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the thinning track information B is thinned to a width of 1 pixel. A straight line based on the thinned track information B is output to the display memory 16, stored in place of the corresponding original track information A, and displayed on the display 17.

  In the above example, the case of a straight line is shown, but the thinning process is similarly performed even if the original track information A is a curve.

  Next, a specific method for linearization will be described. In accordance with the linearization processing command, the thinned track information B is read from the display memory 16 to the data conversion unit 18.

  First, a raster scan is performed on the target image including the thinning track information B from, for example, the upper left to the lower right. In this scan, a pixel having a value is searched for as a target pixel. The target pixel is assumed to have been scanned. This scanning has been done by setting a flag corresponding to the pixel.

  Scan 8 pixels around the pixel of interest and look for pixels that have a value and have not been scanned. If there is a pixel that has a value and has not been scanned, that pixel is the target pixel. Thereafter, adjacent target pixels are similarly detected sequentially.

  A straight line connecting the first target pixel and the nth (n ≧ 2) target pixel is obtained, and a straight line having the same inclination as this line and having a width of m pixels (m ≧ 2) starting from the first target pixel Is a straight line extraction line zone. It is more desirable that m pixels be 3 pixels or more (m ≧ 3). The center line of the straight line extraction line band is preferably a straight line connecting the first target pixel and the nth (n ≧ 2) target pixel.

  Then, an adjacent target pixel is searched from the nth target pixel until there is a target pixel that does not overlap with the line extraction line band, and the first target pixel and the target pixel immediately before the target pixel that does not overlap with the line extraction line band are determined. The connecting straight line is the extracted straight line. That is, the extracted straight line becomes a part of the straightened track information C. This linearization process is performed in order to obtain linearized track information C.

  The linearization process described above will be described using the simple model shown in FIG. In FIG. 8, pixels P <b> 1 to P <b> 11 indicate thinning track information B read from the display memory 16 into the data conversion unit 18 in accordance with the linearization processing command. The thinned track information B of the curve is represented by the pixels P1 to P11, and these pixels P1 to P11 are the target pixels for the linearization process.

  In FIG. 8, first, the target image including the thinning track information B is raster-scanned from the upper left to the lower right, for example. In this scan, the pixel P1 having a value is searched for as a target pixel. It is assumed that the target pixel P1 has been scanned.

  The adjacent target pixels P2, P3,... Are detected from the target pixel P1. It has the same inclination as the straight line connecting the first target pixel P1 and the nth (here assumed to be the third) target pixel P3, and has a width of m pixels (here, assumed to be 3 pixels) starting from the target pixel P1. ) Is defined as a straight line extraction line band SB.

  Subsequently, adjacent target pixels P4 to P10 are detected from the target pixel P3, and a straight line connecting the target pixel P10 immediately before the target pixel P11 that no longer overlaps with the straight line extraction line band SB and the first target pixel P1 is extracted. Straight line.

  Thereafter, similarly, with the target pixel P10 as the first target pixel, a straight line extraction line zone is formed between the pixel and the nth target pixel, and straight lines are extracted.

  If there is no adjacent target pixel, a straight line is extracted with the immediately preceding target pixel as the end point of the straight line. Then, the target image is scanned again, a pixel having a value and not scanned is searched for as a target pixel, and a straight line is extracted.

  The above operation is repeated until there are no pixels that have values and have not been scanned to obtain an extracted line group. By writing these extracted straight line groups into the display memory 16, the linearized track information C is displayed on the display 17.

  When converting the linearized track information C into numerical data, the start point and end point of the extracted straight line group are converted into numerical data such as latitude and longitude, output from the data conversion unit 18 to the data storage unit 19, and stored. Let

  If it is desired to display the track again on the display 17 after the power of the track display device is turned off, the data of the start point and end point of the straight line group stored in the data storage unit 19 is read and the start point and end point are connected. By writing a straight line in the display memory 16, a wake display based on the straightened wake information C is displayed on the display unit 17.

  The detection of adjacent pixels is not limited to 8 pixels around the target pixel, and the range may be expanded to the outside of one pixel. By doing so, even if the thinned track information is interrupted, the continuity of the straight line is increased, and the track information can be accumulated with less data when converted into numerical data.

  Also, instead of thinning, straightening, and converting all track data into thin data, by giving processing range designation information for designating the range to be processed to the data conversion unit 18 from the outside as required. It is possible to process only the wakes of other necessary ships without processing the wake information that does not need to be left.

  9 and 10 are diagrams for illustrating thinning processing when the original track information has been superimposed, FIG. 9 is a diagram in which the original track information is superimposed, and FIG. The thinned track information is shown.

  In the thinning process already described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7, thinning is performed on pixels that have data (data is not zero) when thinning is performed. On the other hand, in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the thinning process divides each pixel data of the original track information into a plurality of data ranges whose ranges do not overlap each other, and performs the thinning process for each data range. In this way, thin track information is obtained.

  As shown in FIG. 9, if there are two overlapping original track information A1 and A2, there is usually a certain amount of time between the first track A1 being drawn and the second track A2 being drawn. There is a time difference. The wake information is subjected to a process of attenuating the data with time (for example, gradation process), so the wake data of the two wakes A1 and A2 have a certain size difference.

  Paying attention to the difference in the size of the track data, at the time of thinning, the data of each pixel of the original track information is a plurality of data ranges that do not overlap each other, for example, 1> data ≧ 5 and 6> data ≧ 10. The data is divided and thinning processing is performed for each data range.

  When this process is applied to the two original track information A1 and A2 overlapped in FIG. 9 and the thinning process is performed in the same manner as the thinning process described with reference to FIGS. As shown, the two overlapping original track information A1 and A2 are separated into two thin track information B1 and B2.

  Thereby, a thinned image can be obtained even after the original track information of a plurality of ships and the like overlap in the same region (sea area).

The figure which shows the Example of the movement track display apparatus which concerns on this invention Display example when original track information A is displayed Display example when thinning track information B is displayed Display example when straightening track information C is displayed Figure showing original track information A Diagram showing target pixel and surrounding pixels The figure which shows thinning track information B Diagram showing a simple model explaining the linearization process Figure with original track information superimposed A diagram of thinned superimposition track information The figure which shows the structural example of the radar apparatus mounted in the conventional ship

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Reception part 12 A / D conversion part 13 Buffer memory 14 Signal processing coordinate conversion part 15 Track processing part 16 Display memory 17 Display 18 Data conversion part 19 Data storage part 20 Work memory A Original track information B Thinning track information C Straightening track information

Claims (6)

Based on the received signal by the detection device that transmits the transmission signal and receives the reflected wave from the target, how the position of the target around the detection device has changed from the past predetermined time to the present In a mobile wake display device comprising a wake processing unit for generating original wake information representing, and a display memory for storing the original wake information from the wake processing unit and outputting it to the display unit,
In response to the thinning process command, the original track information is input from the display memory, the thinning process is performed by leaving the central portion of the original track information, and the thinned track information is generated. A moving track display device comprising a data conversion unit that outputs to a memory for storage and stores the data instead of corresponding original track information. The data converter is
Further, upon receiving a linearization processing command, thinning track information is input from the display memory, and linearization processing is performed by converting the extracted extracted straight line into numerical data representing the position of the start point and the end point, and then performing the linearization track 2. The moving track display device according to claim 1, wherein information is created, a straight line based on the linearized track information is output to the display memory, and stored in place of the corresponding thinned track information. The linearization process includes:
Scan the target image including the thinned track information, and detect adjacent target pixels in sequence, using the pixel with the value as the target pixel,
Forming a straight line extraction zone having a width of m pixels (m ≧ 2) around a straight line connecting the first target pixel and the nth (n ≧ 2) target pixel;
3. The straight line connecting the target pixel immediately before the target pixel that does not overlap the straight line extraction zone and the first target pixel is extracted from the n-th target pixel and used as an extracted straight line. The moving track display device described in 1. The moving track display device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein numerical data representing the position of the start point and the end point of the extracted straight line is readable and stored in a data storage unit having a nonvolatile memory. In the thinning process, each pixel data of the original track information is divided into a plurality of data ranges whose ranges do not overlap with each other, and the thinning process is performed for each data range to obtain thin track information. The moving track display device according to claim 1, wherein: The moving track display according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a processing range designation signal is input to the data conversion unit, and a range for performing the linearization processing and / or thinning processing is designated. apparatus.

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